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Nuclear terrorism

Pacifists say "nuclear security" is an absurd proposition because terrorists aren't just trying to get their hands on material to build their own nuclear explosives but also to get access to the ready-made weapons.

BARRISTER HARUN UR RASHID
THE third nuclear security summit was held at The Hague on March 24-25. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit and instead sent his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.
Observers say that the timing of the summit was not appropriate because the Ukrainian crisis overshadowed the deliberations of the summit. The political tension between Russia and the West did not augur well for cooperative talks between the two countries on the prevention of nuclear terrorism. Most of the nuclear weapons are in Russia and the US (Russia-8,500 and the US-7,700, as of 2013).
President Obama held the first nuclear security summit in April 2010 in Washington, D.C. The second summit was held in Seoul in March 2012. The third summit was held in The Hague. All the summits had one main purpose, to find ways to secure nuclear weapons, nuclear fuel, and radioactive wastes so that they do not
fall in the hands of terrorists.
Thirty-five out of 53 nations taking part in the third summit pledged to turn international guidelines into national laws. The US, UK and Japan were among the countries to agree to the deal at the summit. Major nuclear powers Russia, China, India and Pakistan did not join the initiative.
Although Japan has agreed to turn over hundreds of kilos of nuclear material to the United States, experts believe its remaining stockpile of lower-grade plutonium contained in waste fuel could potentially be reprocessed as fissile material for an extremely large nuclear arsenal. Furthermore, Japan is planning to open a nuclear reprocessing plant this year in the north of the country, which could turn out large quantities of additional plutonium.
About 140 cases of missing or unauthorised use of nuclear and radioactive material were reported to the global nuclear watchdog -International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -in 2013.
The biggest nightmare for the world is that a terrorist group could get hold of nuclear material and be able to use it. The technology has now come to such a stage that a backpack nuclear bomb can be made without great of difficulty and detonated in the heart of any city, killing millions of people instantly. Experts say that protecting such materials in transit, developing nuclear forensic techniques to help law enforcement agencies detect illicit trafficking, and using low enriched uranium in nuclear medicine are important parts of the security process.
There are two treaties to eliminate nuclear weapons. Becoming a party to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT) would require scrapping of nuclear arsenals, something the nuclear powers outside the pact, including Israel, India and Pakistan, have refused to do so far. Another step for nuclear disarmament is for all states to join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Furthermore, a significant step is to conclude the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), which would prohibit further production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. The discussion has been stalled at the Genevabased Disarmament Conference as of today.
Bangladesh has signed both the NPT and CTBT, reflecting its commitment to world peace and security as enshrined in Article 25 of the Bangladesh Constitution.
Although preventing nuclear terrorism is a laudable intention, the ideal goal is to eliminate all nuclear weapons. Pacifists say "nuclear security" is an absurd proposition because terrorists aren't just trying to get their hands on material to build their own nuclear explosives but also to get access to the ready-made weapons, most which are in Russia and the US.
What we need now is a nuclear weapons summit with all the key players to advance the phased, verified elimination of all nuclear weapons.
In 2000, in his book Engagement: Australia faces the Asia Pacific, Paul Keating, former prime minister of
Australia, argues for scrapping nuclear weapons for the following reasons: "Three possibilities exist with regard to nuclear weapons and three only. First, they will be used, either deliberately or accidentally. Second, that they will not be used but will be managed forever by wise, prudent and well-meaning governments and military forces and will never fall into the hands of terrorists. Or third, that we agree to get rid of them. The first possibility offers catastrophe to the human race. The second requires us to make assumptions about the future that run completely counter to logic and experience. The third is the only possibility that can secure our safety."
In November 1954, five months before his death, the father of atomic bomb Einstein summarised his feelings about his role in the creation of the atomic bomb: "I made one great mistake in my life... when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made." Furthermore, Einstein wrote in German to a Japanese friend Shinohara in a letter dated June 23, 1953: "I have always condemned the use of the atomic bomb against Japan but I could not do anything at all to prevent that fateful decision." The writer is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.